BOOK REVIEW: Keep You Close by Lucie Whitehouse

They said it was a tragic accident. She knows better...
The brilliant young painter Marianne Glass is found dead in her snow-covered garden, Rowan Winter, once her closest friend, knows it wasn't a mistake.
Marianne had vertigo, paralysing vertigo. She never would have gone that close to the edge...

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 361

I have read an enjoyed all of Lucie Whitehouse's previous books. She is a superb storyteller and so, so good at creating tension and suspense within her books.
Rowan has not spoken to Marianne Glass for more than ten years, when she is informed of her tragic death. It would appear that she committed suicide by jumping from her studio window at the top of her house. Rowan is devastated but also suspicious. Marianne suffered from paralysing vertigo, there is no way she would have gone out on to the roof so what really happened?
Marianne becomes entangled in the Glass family again as she offers to house sit until Marianne's belongings are cleared out. She becomes very aware that she is being watched and she is sure that whoever it is must be connected to her friend's death.
Keep You Close is so well written; the tension is there from the very beginning but Lucie Whitehouse has plenty of tricks up her sleeve to keep the pace going. I was seriously shocked when reading the final few chapters; there were some things I had worked out but there was still plenty of surprises.
I thought that Lucie Whitehouse's characterisation was fantastic. Marianne is dead from the very beginning of the book but we still become very familiar with her. Her whole family are integral to the book as is Marianne's childhood home where she still lived and died. Lucie Whitehouse paints beautifully vivid images through her descriptions and I felt that the characters and the history they shared were entirely believable.
I highly recommend Keep You Close  but also this author's other books too. Her writing style and storytelling put Lucie Whitehouse above many other authors in this genre.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of this book to review. 

BOOK REVIEW: Before We Met by Lucie Whitehouse

A whirlwind romance.
A perfect marriage.
Hannah Reilly has seized her chance at happiness. Until the day her husband doesn't come home...
Can you ever really know what happened before you met?

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 276

This book is very difficult to review without giving the plot away but I will try my best.
Hannah Reilly married Mark and has moved back to the UK from New York after a whirlw
ind romance. She is madly in love and settling into her new role until Mark doesn't come home. He was supposed to be in New York but his assistant thought he had taken Hannah to Rome. Can you really trust someone you've not known long, even if he is your husband?
Before We Met took me a little while to get into but the plot was well thought out and the characters very believable, especially Hannah's husband Mark. I felt that Hannah was very closed off as a character but as I got to the end of the book I felt that it explained her relationship with Mark and how she reacted to him.
The last few chapters were gripping and there were a few surprises thrown in to. Lucie Whitehouse has built up a huge amount of tension , I was almost pleased that the book finished as I felt as though I was holding my breath.
If you're a fan of Lucie Whitehouse's books then I'm sure you will enjoy this one. Before We Met is quite an edgy read and poses a lot of questions about the people we love.

Book Review: The Bed I Made by Lucie Whitehouse

I read and loved Lucie Whitehouse's first novel, The House at Midnight last year, so I was very excited to be sent a copy of her new book by the lovely people at Bloomsbury.

The Bed I Made is just as tense and atmospheric as Lucie's previous book but I would say that this one has a much darker and more dangerous edge to it.

One fateful night, Kate meets Richard in a Soho bar and they begin a reckless and intense relationship. However, eighteen months later we follow Kate as she flees the familiarity of her London life for the obscurity of a rented cottage on the Isle of Wight. It is winter on this tiny island and Kate finds herself extremely isolated. She learns about the disappearance of local woman, Alice Frewin who many suggest has taken her own life. Kate is drawn to Alice's story, it almost provides a distraction yet she still cannot escape the clutches of Richard who has not given up on finding out where she has escaped to.

Lucie Whitehouse begins building the chilling atmosphere from the first page of the book. The story builds slowly like the fog that rolls in and envelops Kate's cottage on the island. We begin to gain an understanding of why she is so frightened of this man who she had once loved and admired. There were times when I did not want to read on as I was frightened as to what was lurking around the next corner but I could not stop myself from turning the pages.

Critics have compared Lucie Whitehouse to Daphne Du Maurier and I believe that this is a fair assertion, even more so after reading this second book. Through her clever use of language, Whitehouse creates a chilling and sinister atmosphere as she gradually builds up the suspense. Words carry a lot of power throughout the story. Other than Kate's memories, Richard's main presence is via text messages and emails that she receives whilst on the island. He uses few words but the power that they have over Kate is terrifying and you get a real sense of the oppressive fear that she is experiencing.

Lucie Whitehouse has created a perfect thriller. The Bed I Made grabs you from the very first chapter; it is not one to be missed but certainly not one that I would recommend reading just before you turn the lights off!

The House at Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse

This is one of the best books that I have read so far in 2009. I had heard quite a lot about this book before I bought it, especially the comparisons to The Secret History and Rebecca. I believe that it is definitely worthy of those comparisons but in no way is Lucie Whitehouse trying to copy those books; her storytelling has very much a style of it's own.
Lucas inherits Stoneborough Manor from his Uncle, both of Lucas' parents are dead and he is haunted by the suicide of his uncle who had been a father-figure. However, Lucas decides to use Stoneborough as a place where he and his small group of friends can escape to from their busy lives in London. The group of friends is incredibly close and the relationships between them are all extremely intricate.
Lucas gradually becomes increasingly obsessed with Stoneborough and with the cine films that he finds of his Uncle and his friends in their heyday. The similarities to Lucas and his group are startling and the secrets they reveal come to have a bearing on all of them.
This book had me gripped from the very start, the suspense stays with you right until the last page. Even when events in the story take a positive turn you know that something must be waiting just round the corner. The house plays a pivotal role in the book; I love books set in large houses with their many secrets and memories hidden away in the attic just waiting to be discovered. This was a really excellent book, especially as it is Whitehouse's first novel, I hope she writes many more!

You have to love 3for2!!

Mr S has just taken me on a trip to our local Borders to cheer me up!! It is one of the things that I love the most about living in Leicester; we have this massive Borders about 10 minutes from our house with a big Starbucks and it is open until 10pm every night! It's nice to go and look at all the books and have a hot chocolate and a chat. I am very lucky in that Mr S is quite happy having a look around at the books too; I wonder if I would ever have been able to have a relationship with someone who didn't like reading as well? Hmmmmm I have never really thought about that!
Anyway I decided to take full advantage of the 3for2 offer that they had on; they had loads of books to choose from and it took me a while but eventually I decided on:
1. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella (really fancied something nice and light at the moment)
2. The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold (I loved her other two books so instantly picked this up when I saw it, although I have just looked on Amazon and there are some very negative reviews so we shall see)
3. The House at Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse (This looks really good, I love books centred round houses with lots of mysterious secrets).

So they should keep me going for a while! I am going to make a return visit to the library at the weekend; I went last week and was not really that impressed but I shall give it another go.